"Damn it, he discovered me!"
Zhang Xiaoman cursed under his breath, surprised at how quickly the Demon Clan commander reacted. Just as he was about to reach the Chaos Spirit Flower, a barrier was activated, thwarting his initial plan.
However, it was too late to turn back now, as the arrow had already been released. Zhang Xiaoman gritted his teeth and shouted loudly:
"How dare you!"
His sudden outburst startled Jianmie, who momentarily froze.
"I am a special envoy of the Demon Lord, here to claim your tribute, how dare you obstruct me!?"
With these words, Jianmie was taken aback once more, sensing the strong aura emanating from the opponent, one that was not weaker than his own. This made him hesitate for a moment.
"What are you waiting for! Disband the formation and present the Spirit Flower to my master immediately!"
Zhang Xiaoman stepped forward, withdrawing the Shadow Lord’s aura enveloping him, exposing the Demon Clan disguise he’d crafted in full view.
He did this purely to further gain Jianmie’s trust, but the latter was stunned when he saw Zhang Xiaoman’s appearance.
"You... You are... from the Sky Demon Clan, akin to the Demon Lord’s origin?"
Jianmie Commander suddenly blurted out, leaving Zhang Xiaoman slightly bewildered.
Judging by his reaction, it seemed like a curious misunderstanding had occurred, and Zhang Xiaoman promptly said:
"That’s right, my lord dislikes waiting. Hurry up and present the offering, lest my lord blames us and no one escapes harm!"
Jianmie’s expression immediately changed, revealing a hint of fear.
He quickly glanced at Zhang Xiaoman, then at the array under his feet, and finally at Zhang Xiaoman’s appearance and the strength he perceived from him, thinking to himself:
"A member of the Sky Demon Clan... suddenly appearing within the formation... with such strength... could he really be the Demon Lord’s envoy...?"
His mind was already shaken, and he began to somewhat believe Zhang Xiaoman’s words.
However, a lie is still a lie, and Jianmie was no fool but a middle-level god. Zhang Xiaoman’s assertions and coincidental appearance initially intimidated him, but as soon as he calmed down to think things through, he immediately noticed discrepancies.
Nonetheless, that brief moment of calmness afforded Zhang Xiaoman an opportunity.
Zhang Xiaoman hadn’t expected his bluff would genuinely scare the opponent; he merely sought to buy some time.
A golden radiance appeared in his hand—it was the power from the Holy Attribute Renzhen, the key to breaking through the Demonic Clan’s array before him.
In an instant, intense golden light burst forth from Zhang Xiaoman, targeting the barrier surrounding the Chaos Spirit Flower.
The array constructed from Jianmie’s demonic aura shattered immediately, and the lingering holy glow spread, severely injuring several nearby demons.
"Ugh... This is... the power of the Holy Attribute! Who are you really!?"
Jianmie quickly realized what was happening, but it was too late. Caught off guard, he got hit by Zhang Xiaoman’s attack; though not the primary target, confronting such a perfectly countering attribute pushed him far back.
Zhang Xiaoman had now discarded his disguise, reverting to his original form. Faced with the inquiry from the red-horned demon, he had no intention of explaining.
Unlimited Teleportation, activate!
He swiftly retreated, activating Dark Speed at full force, and in the blink of an eye, had left the planet, flying who knows how far.
"Damn Spiritual Wisdom Clan! You were an imposter after all! How dare you snatch my Chaos Spirit Flower, I will kill you!!"
The Jianmie Commander roared in anger and immediately gave chase. In the blink of an eye, both of them had entered the void, leaving the original site of the banquet with a plethora of lower-level Transcendent demons looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
In the void, countless blue currents surged, their target being Zhang Xiaoman’s fleeing form.
"So fast!!"
Zhang Xiaoman was astounded, not expecting the opponent’s speed to be so terrifying. Despite starting earlier, in just one breath, that guy had already caught up.
Jianmie Commander was a demon known for his speed, remarkably fast to the extent that even peak middle-level gods might not catch up to him.
Zhang Xiaoman berated his oversight internally. His previous information hadn’t mentioned the opponent’s exceptional speed, suggesting this Demon Clan commander kept his secret well, not even revealing it to his trusted aides.
Even though that speed was useless, as Zhang Xiaoman meticulously calculated the time in his mind, 3.52 seconds had already passed since he activated Unlimited Teleportation. Time continued to slip away, and he just needed slightly over a second more to escape.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, a streak of red light burst from the blue lightning, Zhang Xiaoman’s pupils contracted, and before he could react, Jianmie’s figure seemingly teleported right in front of him.
"Boom!"
"Crack~"
The next moment, Jianmie gazed at the empty void, releasing his divine thought to scan around, but still couldn’t locate the human’s presence, eliciting a roar of fury with rumbling thunder. Countless unlucky demons met their untimely demise.
Elsewhere, somewhere in the void, Zhang Xiaoman’s figure unexpectedly appeared.
He staggered slightly, looking down at his abdomen, feeling a sharp pain, seeing a newly-formed circular wound.
The wound wasn’t deep, and Zhang Xiaoman merely willed it mended.
"Such formidable attack power; just one strike shattered my Star Sky Ancient Mirror, even piercing through the external spiritual power shield. That guy probably has some extraordinary treasure in his possession."
He sighed deeply, temporarily stowing away the fragmented Star Sky Ancient Mirror.
This magic treasure was originally given to him by the Lan Family’s Ancestor Blue White Clothes during the battle at the Space Barrier. Though it was a growth-type defensive artifact, its growth limit was only to the peak lower level. Without reinforcement from Unlimited Level materials, it wouldn’t withstand his future combat intensity.
His current worry was due to having no realm restrictions; his upgrade was so fast that his equipment’s quality hadn’t kept pace with his advancing strength. As for weapons, though, he still had the Purple Cloud Divine Sword, a divine artifact, but defensively, he was lacking. It seemed he needed to pay more attention to this area if the opportunity arose in the future.
Setting aside the issue with the Star Sky Ancient Mirror temporarily, Zhang Xiaoman refocused on the greyish-white luminous Spiritual Medicine in his hand.
"Chaos Spirit Flower, finally got it. With it, I should soon be able to seek the fifth Star Pattern of the Phantom Color Imprint. By the time its power is fully nurtured and unleashed, I wonder to what extent my strength will elevate..."
Excitement gleamed in Zhang Xiaoman’s eyes. Originally, when the Demon Lord’s consciousness descended, he’d completely abandoned hope. Unexpectedly, the Demon Lord wasn’t interested in such an Unlimited Level Chaos Spirit Flower, merely glanced at it, then left immediately, affording Zhang Xiaoman the opportunity.
"Perhaps, given such Spiritual Medicines are concocted via Dreamstate Creation, at his level, they no longer catch his eye. I can only wonder what kind of treasure would... Never mind, either way, my gains this time are quite satisfactory. Not only did I secure the Chaos Spirit Flower, but I also confirmed Ni Yang’s whereabouts; a double stroke of good fortune."
Zhang Xiaoman put away the Chaos Spirit Flower for now. The immediate priority was finding Ni Yang, and the Star Pattern quest could only wait for the time being.